


The Honorable Tony Stark, 45th President of the United States

by Maedlin



Series: President Stark AU [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Accidental Power Acquisition, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Tony Stark, Blatantly Self-Indulgent, Bureaucracy, But It Could Be Read That Way, F/M, Fix-It, Government Agencies, Not Technically World Domination, POV Outsider, Saving the World, Tony Stark Did Not Sign Up For This, Tony Stark Does What He Wants, Tony Stark for President
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-10-08
Packaged: 2019-07-20 14:22:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16139069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maedlin/pseuds/Maedlin
Summary: So here’s the thing. Tony never wanted to be the guy in charge of running an entire country. If he had any idea when he first started down this road that was a possibility, he would have turned and run screaming in the opposite direction.He was already carrying enough of the weight of the world on his shoulders, thank you very much.But the thing is? Looking back, he can’t imagine events playing out any other way.(Or:How to Accidentally Become the Leader of the Free Worldby Tony Stark)





	1. First Pebbles

**Author's Note:**

> One-shot turned two-shot spinning off from a single change that, technically, had nothing to do with Tony Stark. Not directly, and not at first, at least.
> 
> Inspired by late-night insomnia-induced musings, popular fandom works (The War Is Far From Over Now; Enough Rope--Looking at you two especially), and the sudden, pressing desire to write a fic about a Tony that wasn't late-canon and/or absolutely miserable.

**ACTING PRESIDENT STARK TO ADDRESS THE NATION REGARDING HYDRA CRISIS**

 

So here’s the thing. Tony never wanted to be President of the United States. If he had any idea when he first started down this road that was a possibility, he would have turned and run screaming in the opposite direction.

 

He was already carrying enough of the weight of the world on his shoulders, thank you very much.

 

But the thing is? Looking back, he can’t imagine events playing out any other way.

 

+++

 

It started with New York, not that Tony was aware of it at the time.

 

It started with President Ellis’ Secretary of the Defense, Robert Brown, scheduling a private meeting with the President three months after the New York Invasion. Secretary Brown, as it turns out, was a New York native. A significant portion of his family—his wife, his youngest daughter, her two children—were all in New York at the time of the attack.

 

The Secretary was fairly old. Before New York, he’d been considering retirement around the end of the year should President Ellis be re-elected as expected.

 

After New York, that consideration turned into a determination.

 

Though public perception of the incident was carefully managed to prevent a complete PR nightmare, Secretary Brown took the deployment of a nuclear weapon against an American city very poorly. He saw it as a personal failing on his part that he was unable to prevent it or even see it coming. That but for Iron Man’s heroic near-sacrifice, his family would be dead. Every attempt he made to look into the matter was stonewalled. Dead end after dead end.

 

That was the first purpose of the meeting: to speak to President Ellis directly on the matter, to find out why he and the Joint Chiefs of the Armed Forces hadn’t been consulted on such an grave matter.

 

In that regard, it was an utter failure. Ellis was tight-lipped on the matter, repeating the same half-truths that had been smoothing ruffled feathers since the first person with high enough clearance had learned that no, the missile had not always been intended to go through the portal.

 

That the missile hadn’t been sent in collaboration with Iron Man. That its original target was the city itself. That it was only due to Iron Man having somehow learned of the incoming threat and taking action that New York City still existed at all.

 

It was the final nail in the coffin for Secretary Brown. With a heavy heart he told President Ellis that one way or another, come November he would to retire.

 

President Ellis’ reelection was never particularly in doubt. Not with his approval rating through the roof in the wake of post-invasion national unity.

 

With months to find a replacement, there was time to properly consider the matter of the new Secretary of Defense.

 

It was in those meetings that Tony Stark’s name first came up.

 

+++

 

It began as a joke. Began with two Senior Aides towards the tail end of a late night spent commiserating over drinks.

 

“Hell, why don’t we just give the job to Captain America?”

 

“Oh fuck no, can you imagine? No, if we’re putting a superhero in charge, we wanna go with Iron Man.”

 

“How do you figure?”

 

“Dude spent decades as CEO of the world’s largest defense contractor. Ostensibly leaves the industry... only to months later come out with sci-fi mecha armor that he proceeds to use to _privatize world peace._ Then, if that’s not enough, he goes and saves the world from literal aliens. Man’s probably the most popular public figure in the world at this point. Seriously, name a single major interest group that doesn’t like him.”

 

“Not sure I’m sober enough for this, but okay, I'll bite. Libertarians? ...Wait, no, that one's a gimme, never mind; he’s basically their wet dream come to life, isn’t he?”

 

“The clip from the congressional hearing back in 2009 is still linked on their official party website last I checked.”

 

“Alright then... Okay, so Stark's whole reason for stopping weapons manufacturing was because he didn’t think the industry had enough oversight. The Republicans gotta hate him for that?”

 

“Maybe at first, but once all the details with the terrorism came out? It became political suicide to not at least pay lip service to his opinion. There’s some interesting cognitive dissonance going on with their positions on this and their rhetoric with gun control, but frankly that’s just politics for you.”

 

“Okay, fair enough. How ‘bout the Dems? Guy’s a symbol of Big Business, Capitalistic Excess, and the White Male Patriarchy if ever I saw one.”

 

“...And he’s also a philanthropist well-known for his support of various social justice initiatives.”

 

“Evangelicals, then? Playboy partier with sex tapes graphically depicting his exploits all over the internet? You can’t tell me they’re okay with that!”

 

“Well, no. But really, when’s the last time anything like that came out? His birthday in 2009 was the closest, and compared to the stuff he got up to in the 90s that was pretty tame. And people were saying that  _before_ it came out that he was suffering from severe heavy metal poisoning at the time, which apparently seriously fucks with your reasoning. Not that it stopped him from stopping yet another terrorist plot or anything. Because that'd be absurd, I guess. Add in his relationship with Ms. Potts, though? The redemptive hero narrative writes itself. Now that we’ve got the Christ-figure comparisons regarding New York on top of that? Sure, some bible-thumpers still think he’s the antichrist, but the major talking heads? Just another example of the way everyone wants the big hero to be ‘their guy.’ They pick and choose the bits of his personality and politics that they like to focus on and ignore a lot of the rest.”

 

“Jesus, I didn't realize his PR had gotten quite that good. We sure he’s not gunning for world domination?”

 

“I mean, with public mood as it is now, I feel like a lot of people would welcome their new Evil Overlord with open arms.”

 

“...So, all hail Overlord Stark for Secretary of Defense?”

 

“You know what? Fuck it. Let's put ‘im on the shortlist for Ellis.”

 

And so the seeds were first planted there, in the form of drunken banter between two friends and a note hastily saved on a phone. 

 

Events would only snowball from there.

 

+++

 

The holiday season brought with it the nightmare of the Mandarin’s attacks. Amidst the chaos of the ongoing crisis, Secretary Brown’s retirement was put on hold. Tony Stark’s very public rage was followed within hours by the dramatic destruction of his Malibu mansion. His presumed death left a world that had only just begun to adapt to a post-Invasion society yet again reeling with shock.

 

The reality that the remaining Avengers were missing in action, leaving the War Machine as the sole superhero in active operation, didn't help. In a new world where gods, magic, and aliens had become documented realities, he proved a cold comfort compared to the iconic red-and-gold.

 

Then came the dramatic return. Iron Man was back, just in the nick of time to save the life of the President of the United States. Though War Machine was involved, the use of his suit in the attack—and the attempted re-branding into the Iron Patriot that had backfired spectacularly—led the media to focus on Stark’s miraculous return from presumed death and his subsequent actions far more heavily.

 

The Vice President’s involvement in the conspiracy only twisted the knife in the Administration’s side. Replacing him before the full investigation was done would be a political nightmare. It would take months to sort out at best.

 

Here's the rub, though. Secretary Brown? He and the Vice President were long-time friends.

 

The day after the Vice President’s arrest, Secretary Brown tendered his resignation. This time, he refused to take no for an answer.

 

+++

 

“Alright, I can accept not having a Vice President for a while. But _please_ tell me you have better prospects on the Defense Secretary,” President Ellis said, exhausted.

 

“About that…”

 

“Ethan, I have to say that’s _not_ a very reassuring start. Well—” The President braced himself for more bad news, “—alright then, lay it on me.”

 

“It’s not _bad_ per say. Just, Sir, have you had a chance to look over the short list at all?”

 

“Not directly; why?”

 

“...Because third on the list is Tony Stark, and Sir? I think he’s our best bet on getting a new Secretary confirmed by the Senate.”

 

“What?”

 

+++

 

“What.”

 

Tony blinked, caught entirely off-guard.

 

“You’re joking. Tell me you’re joking.”

 

“Dr. Stark, I assure you I’m being quite serious. I want you as my new Secretary of Defense.”

 

 _Christ, he’s not sure_ anyone _had ever called him Dr. Stark and sounded like they meant it._

 

Tony’s first instinct was to give a reflexive, resounding NO, hang up, and pretend this conversation had never happened. But no. He could be diplomatic about this. Surely anyone could see what a train wreck of an idea putting Tony in charge of anything in government was after a bit of thought?

 

“Mr. President, with all due respect—” _(see Rhodey, I can be polite!)_ “—why the—” _(don’t say fuck, don’t say fuck)_ “—hell—” _(good enough)_ “do you think that’s anything but a terrible idea?”

 

+++

 

“I think you should do it,” Pepper said after a short pause following Tony’s impassioned tirade.

 

“What? Honey, no! I thought you wanted me to take a step back from all this world-saving business?! Remember, dramatic suit explosions? The _hottest_ kiss ever? Any of this ringing a bell here?”

 

Pepper didn’t give Tony’s very-much-intentional Extremis pun the dignity of a response. _Not like he hasn’t made that same_ stupid _joke a hundred times, always with that_ ~~_adorable_~~ _ridiculous grin of his._

 

She did, however, roll her eyes at the remainder of his statement.

 

“Tony, I will never ask you to stop completely. You’d try for me; I know you would. But I also know it would kill you to do it. It’d eat at you more and more until eventually it would destroy you, and our relationship alongside it.”

 

“Peps you know I would never choose the suit over you!”

 

“Yes, I do,” she agreed, pulling him up short. “But _you_ have to know that I could never live with myself for making you choose in the first place. Not when I’ve already betrayed—”

 

“Now hang on just a second there!" Tony cut in, "You’ve never betrayed me! ...Not unless there’s something you’re not telling me?” He played the question off as an obvious joke. Pepper was one of the few people in the world that knew him well enough to recognize the small thread of uncertainty and fear underlying the words.

 

 _Because she and Jim_ had _betrayed Tony once, had brushed him off and written him off when he was_ dying. _That Tony never blamed them, told them there was nothing to forgive because it was his own behavior that had driven them to that point, told them that he more than deserved their scorn because “let’s not kid ourselves here, I was and still am a narcissistic asshole most of the time” and refused to hear otherwise had led them to drop the subject, sure._

 

_But perhaps she’d never fully forgiven herself._

 

And then she’d failed him again, when he’d spent his final moments calling _her,_  and she hadn’t even bothered to pick up the phone.

 

“...Well, I did bribe JARVIS to brew you decaf last week,” she replied teasingly.

 

_No need to put a spotlight on even the slightest hint of vulnerability from Tony Stark when he was like this. The man could be prickly as a porcupine, defenses mounting automatically the moment he believed he’s shown any sign of his most deep-seated insecurities. The ones only a few had ever even seen hints of, the ones that he shied away from even with those few he trusted most._

 

Predictably, Tony let out a dramatic, wounded gasp at the ‘betrayal’, bemoaning his _turncoat butler’s_ role in such a _horrific, blasphemous_ attack.

 

The banter did its job in relaxing the pair somewhat. Judging by the infinitesimal relaxation of the persistent tightness in his shoulders, it had also done its job in reassuring Tony from the unspoken doubts.

 

“But to get back on topic. Tony, you _are_ Iron Man; Iron Man is a part of you. I don’t want or need you to change who you are. But the dozens of suits? The compulsive tinkering, the multi-day engineering binges? _That_ was a problem. It was killing me to watch you slowly kill yourself through overwork. It was unhealthy, and I know you know that. I know you knew that even then.

 

“I don’t know what you saw that day. I’m not asking you to ignore it or pretend it never happened. _It_ _did happen._  I don’t think it’s in your nature to see a problem and not try to fix it. But you have to take care of yourself too while you're at it.”

 

Tony had gone slightly wide-eyed and silent during her short monologue. Pepper wondered if perhaps they should have had this conversation sooner.

 

_Granted, she thought they already had._

 

_Man just needed a bit of reminding, it seemed._

 

At last, he seemed to gather himself enough to respond tentatively—

 

“So, just to be clear here... you want me to take care of myself and not work too much by...getting another job with another enormous set of responsibilities that comes with brand-new set of stress and worries tacked on like a ten-cent Happy Meal toy?”

 

His skepticism was clear. Pepper stood her ground, fully explaining the reasoning and logic behind her opinion.

 

_“This is a way you can do good without constantly risking your life flying around in the suit.”_

 

_“So the Avengers and SHIELD haven’t taken your warnings seriously! That won’t matter when you have the ear of the President instead.”_

 

 _“You’ll have the power and connections to force a change, to_ make _the government take the threat seriously by the mere fact of your refusal to stick your head in the sand like the rest of them.”_

 

_“If I’m wrong, if you take the job and you honestly believe it’s not working out and you could do more good here, focused on Stark Industries and your lab, it’s not a lifetime commitment. You can quit.”_

 

Eventually, the conversation petered down and Tony left for his workshop, ostensibly to work on security for the new version of the War Machine armor. He didn’t agree to take the job, but he also didn’t say no.

 

The next morning, he called President Ellis.

 

+++

 

_“I, Anthony Edward Stark, do solemnly affirm that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter.”_

 

+++

 

Tony took to his new position like a duck to water.

 

_(Albeit a very stressed, excitable duck.)_

 

Turns out a job where he got to yell at and browbeat assholes in Congress? Where when he said _we need to prepare for when they come back,_  people actually took him seriously? Where if he _really_ needed a break he had the freedom to fuck off to his New York lab for a day or two or go, I dunno, save kittens from trees or something and no one would say shit? Pretty much the perfect job for him.

 

Tony Stark was a whirlwind force that tore through governmental bureaucracy and red tape like tissue paper. He Got Things Done. His presence alone forced change. It fundamentally altered the way those who worked with him or under him perceived themselves and their roles.

 

It was that same ruthless drive that had once given him nicknames like _The Merchant of Death._ The ruthless drive that had seen his meteoric rise as a business titan from the moment he took control of his company at twenty-one. That had led him to single-handedly become the face of the weapons industry and remake it to his liking.

 

Because for the average person? When Tony Stark Believed something, he could make you believe in it as well.

 

Once? He had let himself believe in the necessity and importance of his life’s work, of his role in protecting the peace through weapons and defense manufacturing. And in doing so, he had dragged an entire nation—and, to some extent, an entire planet—along with him.

 

_(This, in a generation heavily scarred by the legacy of Korea and Vietnam. This, in a generation that carried the lingering unease from the legacies of the Cold War. In a generation that came at the tail end of a century marked by endless war, mass slaughter, and atrocity.)_

 

And when he came back from Afghanistan, scarred and injured but never broken…

 

When Tony Stark returned, but he no longer Believed…

 

When he changed his mind on such a fundamental level, he dragged the world kicking and screaming along with him through sheer force of personality. Through his indomitable, unshakable will. The alternatively scorching heat and biting cold of Afghanistan had only tempered and refined that will further. It had only forced him to shed the bulk of traits and vices that he’d allowed to soften him over the years. That had allowed a reputation as a frivolous party-going playboy to develop even as he remain an industry titan.

 

Tony Stark took in the sluggish behemoth of government, the slow trudge of the Department he now controlled, and then he poked and prodded at it until they too began to remake themselves more to his liking. The Department of Defense was meant to be a force for change. He would ensure it also remained a force for good.

 

Had events been otherwise, had circumstances allowed him to stay the course, it was likely the Defense Department would have continued to evolve. By the end of the Ellis administration, it would have been as unrecognizable to those familiar with its former state as the defense industry of 2007 would have seemed to a Vietnam-era protestor.

 

As things stood, his impact would not be nearly so limited in scope.

 

+++

 

Time passed, and with it came a series of milestones and successes that, despite his ongoing complaints and grumbling to Pepper and JARVIS, ensured that he never once seriously considered leaving his position as Secretary.

 

_("Isn't that the "Why we fight"?! So we can end the fight? So we get to go home?")_

 

Secretary Stark was now begrudgingly known as Dr. Stark.

 

Begrudgingly because he’d _refused_ to be referred to in a manner that even alluded to something like the S.S., thank you very much, but his staff had been equally stubborn in refusing to address him as Mr. Stark or, ideally, Tony.

 

Hence, Dr. Stark.

 

_(“Yay compromise. Isn’t that what government’s all about?”)_

 

 _(“—JARVIS stop snickering! Don’t think I can’t tell the difference between normal static and you laughing at me! I will donate you to the State Department,_ don’t think that I won’t—! _Pepper no! Not you too!” )_

 

The Vice Presidency remained vacant, to the point that it was becoming a running joke even as it threatened to cause an eventual constitutional crisis. Candidate after candidate either rejected the offer or were rejected in turn for various reasons by Congress as unfit for the position.

 

_(“What if there’s a tie in the Senate?”)_

 

_(“What happens with the electoral college?”)_

 

_(“What if another federal officer needs to be impeached?”)_

 

(This, alongside the running jokes that the Vice Presidency was a pointless job in the first place, that literally anyone could sit around and be ready to step in should the president get shot and they didn’t need a whole separate job just for that.)

 

(Besides, the Speaker of the House had faced Ellis in the party primaries! He was more qualified than the original VP anyways should the worst occur. You know, for reasons beyond the obvious problem of conspiring with terrorists to kill his boss and seize power.)

 

Tony Stark continued in his role as Iron Man, though aside from when he ran off to escape Washington for a few hours he was adamant that Iron Man, and by extension the Avengers—

 

_(Who still remained off the radar, by the way. Seriously, of all them he saw Clint the most. Even that was only because Fury sent Clint whenever SHIELD wanted something-or-the-other from Tony or his Department.)_

 

 _(Steve and Natasha were constantly off the grid playing good little STRIKE Team Agents. Bruce had yet to return from his post-Extremis sabbatical, not that Tony could begrudge him that. Thor had presumably been on Asgard until his sudden reappearance with_ yet another hostile alien force at his heels—take that doubters who questioned his judgement! _—and last Tony had checked he was still busy playing house with his beloved Lady Jane.)_

 

—Well, they were meant for world-ending, apocalyptic emergencies that conventional forces could not hope to counter. Nothing Else. Full stop. Tony Stark may be the Secretary of Defense, but Iron Man remained entirely apolitical. In theory, Iron Man exclusively dealt with matters beyond the scope of a single nation’s government.

 

There were noises with that regarding a series of agreements to officially put the Avengers under the purview of the United Nations, but they were just that. Noises. Hardly a priority.

 

The Avengers as a whole were only meant to be a factor in the sorts of emergencies that scarcely came up on a regular basis. The decisions made in the wake of New York had already answered some of most obvious questions surrounding their existence. For example, the Avengers (or other groups like them should they arise) were not as a rule culpable for the damages their defense of the _planet_ incurred.

 

Were the Avengers more active, perhaps a more nuanced definition would be required. As it stood, however, the team had been fully deployed as a unit _once_. The public engagements of solo Avengers—namely Iron Man, but also Thor during the London Convergence—involved minimal collateral damage. What little damage there was tended to be unequivocally the fault of whomever they’d been fighting.

 

Iron Man was still a relatively common sight flying around the globe. If only because Tony took every opportunity he could to use Iron Man as his preferred method of travel.

 

(His excuse, that he was “only doing his civic duty by avoiding the exorbitant expenses of flying around in a multi-million dollar jet!” was technically correct even though it was very blatantly that—an excuse.)

 

Iron Man’s direct intervention in events, however, was far less common. Dr. Stark had plenty of other, equally meaningful, work to be doing after all.

 

(...Even if the endless meetings and circular arguments and stubborn, _bull-headed Senators, I'm looking at you right now, Stern_ felt like enormous wastes of time that he could never fully avoid and left him liable to commit ~~justified~~ homicide should he be forced to endure them without the outlet of his flights in the Iron Man armor...)

 

_(Come to think of it, his staff could probably tell. Maybe that was why they hadn’t fought him harder on the armor-based travel arrangements.)_

 

Part of his work including nurturing the nascent Iron Legion project.

 

Currently, the Iron Legion comprised a half-dozen prototype suits, spread strategically in undisclosed locations across the U.S.. Their development came about as a means of addressing two related problems that Tony’s transition away from his regular work as Iron Man had highlighted. First, they functioned as an initial, incredibly rapid emergency response unit in situations that were either extremely time sensitive or required Iron Man’s intervention in locations the man himself would take precious minutes to reach.

 

_(The strange explosion of blue… something… in a random small town in Missouri served to highlight the low odds of strange events occurring in places where Tony already was. You know, provided the target wasn’t literally an enormous, brand-new skyscraper with his name on it…)_

 

Secondly, they served as a potential extension of and aid towards FEMA. There were constantly cases where Iron Man’s assistance would certainly be valuable, but was scarcely essential. Thus far, the Iron Legion had only been deployed in especially severe natural disasters or time-sensitive, remote evacuations, but these early tests were highly promising.

 

Similarly came the green-light to revive the defunct Falcon program. It was the first steps towards the creation of a new division of the Air Force, one meant to respond in the event of another situation like New York.

 

 _(Tony knew it would, eventually. He remembered Thor’s words on the helicarrier. He knew what he’d seen on the other side of that portal. It wasn’t an_ if, _but a_ when _, and damned if he wasn’t going to do his best to ensure they were ready when it came.)_

 

All in all, Tony’s life remained as busy and chaotic as ever following his confirmation as the new Defense Secretary. But he was happier that perhaps he’d ever been. The decreased life-risking activity had done wonders for the stability of his relationship with Pepper. The tangibility of his progress towards his ultimate goal served to soften the severity of his ongoing struggles with anxiety and panic attacks. That said progress was accomplished in a far healthier manner likely helped as well.

 

Then came the fall of SHIELD, and with it the reveal of HYDRA that sealed Tony’s fate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this started as an idea sketched out on my lunch break at work yesterday. Originally was meant to be a one-shot, but then I went and spent the majority of my birthday (read: today) writing it after my original plans fell through and the story kinda ballooned from there. The second half hasn't been written yet, but as it's fully outlined and it should be pretty clear where this is going, I'd expect to see that relatively soon. Splitting the story where I did seemed like a solid stopping point for some early feedback. (:


	2. Rockslide

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll admit, I was not expecting the response on the first half of this that I got, so thank you guys for that! Helped get me through a pretty rough week, and it means the world to me. (: 
> 
> Also, please note that portions of the end of this chapter may sound vaguely familiar, as they were shamelessly appropriated and remixed from famous speeches and/or quotes.

_November 11, 2014._

 

The date the Project Insight was meant to be executed was a deliberate choice on the part of HYDRA. After all, the project represented the ultimate fulfillment of HYDRA’s mission. It would usher in the dawn of a new world order risen from the ashes of the old.

 

It was also, as luck would have it, a Federal Holiday. Veterans Day.

 

Tony was scheduled to speak at a black-tie event that night. Unlike many other similar engagements he’d been obligated to attend over the years, he was actually… well, not looking forward to precisely, that would be a lie, but at the very least not actively dreading this one.

 

The White House was hosting a formal event honoring Purple Heart recipients and other military veterans. It was traditional for either the Secretary of State or the Secretary of Defense to play host for the evening, and given that the Secretary of Defense was… well, there had never been much doubt that Tony would find himself tapped for the role.

 

He’d attended the Vietnam Wreath-Laying Ceremony that morning, but Tony managed to keep the remainder of his day free from direct obligations.

 

It was a good day.

 

Just him, JARVIS, and the ‘bots in the lab, tinkering with the next generation of upgrades to the Iron Legion.

 

Which, speaking of…

 

“Hey, J?” Tony twirled a pen in his hand, stepping back from the interactive holographic display he’d been modelling on.

 

“Sir?”

 

“I’ve asked this before, but it’s been a while… before everything with Afghanistan for sure, and _wow_ that was almost seven years ago now… God J, I’m getting old…

 

“Anyway! I know when you and I first had The Talk, you weren’t interested, but with this whole project, and the reduced amount of time I’ve been spending as Iron Man—

 

“Well. The tech’s out there. I was reading this interesting report from Dr. Cho the other day on her current research into Cradle Technology. You’ve never asked, and I know I told you to just say the word, but... Well. I’ve been thinking about it a lot more recently and…” Tony trailed off.

 

_Get to the point._

 

“JARVIS, how would you feel about having a physical form? Not just having access to the Legion, but getting a body specifically designed for _you._ "

 

JARVIS didn’t respond for several seconds.

 

_Not a great sign, Stark._

 

“I’m not saying… look, J, you are perfect the way you are, just as much of a person, just as real as anyone the way you are now. And I don’t want you to think that you have to… become human. Or become anything you don’t want to, but—”

 

“Sir—” JARVIS cut him off. The hint of urgency in his tone snapped Tony to attention.

 

“—A trio of helicarriers has crashed into the Potomac. HYDRA has been subverting SHIELD for years. SHIELD has fallen.”

 

Tony had a few precious seconds to process that information before the rest of the world began to react. It was the last moment of relative peace Tony would have for quite some time.

 

+++

 

It took seconds to connect on the line with his undersecretary. Precious seconds more to give the most succinct explanation and directions he could and then verify that they’d been understood.

 

The call ended. Tony Stark got to work.

 

+++

 

**_Monona County, Iowa, 12:03:01 UTC -5_ **

 

Martha Thomason was no one important in the grand scheme of things. She worked for SHIELD, true, but had always remained on the peripheries. It was there on the margins that she did her work, one of the countless cogs in the machine that enabled SHIELD to protect the country and the world.

 

To almost all, she was primarily known as the Pastor’s wife at the county Assemblies of God church.

 

Technically a cover, true, but twenty-five years and dozens of agents later _(thirty-eight, she remembered every one)_ it was very much her life, and it was a life that she found great peace and fulfillment in.

 

But she was also more.

 

With SHIELD, you always were.

 

For more than two decades, the safehouse beneath the church served as a haven for burned agents. Her husband never asked, not since that first time, twenty-four years ago.

 

_Not since Agent #17, battered. Not since the scared, wispy-haired daughter—Jane. The first Jane of many. Not since a seven-year-old, frozen under a piano bench after having snuck out while her mother was recovering to play in the pews. Not since she found her husband trying to reassure the terrified child._

 

_“Let’s get you back to your momma, sweetheart.”_

 

_The silent conversation with Martha. The glint of confusion and dawning understanding. The acceptance as the first pieces slotted into place._

 

_“It’s only safe for them if no one, not even you, knows.”_

 

_The trust and love in his responding hug._

 

_And if, every once in a while, she came home from an afternoon cleaning the church with red eyes or trembling hands, he only held her closer. He’d comfort her, and pray for God to lend them His strength and guidance._

 

And now. Twenty-five years and it had come to this.

 

To an explosion beneath the church. To her, shattered leg she couldn’t feel trapped under rubble and dropped casserole—

 

_(Tuna. He’d mentioned liking tuna and she’d hoped that while she couldn’t change what he’d been through, she could perhaps remind him that he was not alone and give some small comfort.)_

 

—to her right. And she was likely concussed and in shock, she knew that. But all she could think was, _pity, I quite liked that casserole dish._ Because if she didn’t she’d be thinking of Agent #5, of _Chris, he’d looked like a Chris,_ of how with his still-healing injuries he could hardly have escaped the blast, and _God, please be with my husband, don’t let him be the one to find me—_

 

As she lost consciousness, her last thought was of him. Of decades or warm memories, of his smile as he first caught sight of her walking down the aisle at their wedding, of a million little moments of tenderness and humor and exasperation and—

 

_(My love, take your time.)_

 

Martha was one of the lucky ones. She was less than a hundred miles from the nearest base housing an Iron Legionaire. Without it, she likely would have succumbed to her injuries before help arrived.

 

As it was, she would spent three weeks in a coma. It would take seventeen hours to bring in her husband, once the initial chaos died down and the survivors began to pick up the pieces.

 

_(Two stone-faced members of the National Guard at his door just before dawn, the sinking dread turned into a relief literally bringing him to his knees. She was alive. She was not buried in the rubble.)_

 

Martha was paralyzed from the waist down. Her hearing would never fully recover.

 

The couple would never set foot in their home, or even in their home state, again. They were quietly relocated with new identities once she was recovered enough to move.

 

He would learn the full story behind the words they’d left unspoken. She would slowly learn how to live again.

 

But they would be alive. And they would be together.

 

And that made Martha one of the lucky ones.

 

+++

 

**_Northern Cameroon, 18:05:00 UTC +1_ **

 

Abdul-Aalee was in the city on a supply run when the news broke, and it was likely that fact which saved him from death in the initial wave of chaos.

 

Sixteen months spent infiltrating Boko Haram. An entire life wiped away, sacrificed in the name of a false background more vulnerable to extremist rhetoric and recruitment. The delicate balance between maintaining the mask and becoming the mask, sacrificing his own morality for the sake of the greater good.

 

_(Except there was no greater good, and SHIELD was a sham all along. A life given at the altar of the mission, and meanwhile actual Nazis behind the curtain all along.)_

 

The helicarriers in the water, the headlines—

 

**HYDRA EXPOSED**

 

_Safehouses are out if everything’s compromised._

 

**SHIELD: TERRORIST GROUP RESURFACES**

 

_Who knows how long before our—before Boko Haram’s tech guy—sees all the info SHIELD has on them._

 

**ENTIRE AGENCY BURNED**

 

_Sees my face in their databooks._

 

—and in that moment, Abdul-Aalee ceased to exist.

 

He had a gun hidden under his clothes. Had the petty cash he’d been given, or rather, had the portion he hadn’t spent yet.

 

It would have to be enough.

 

_(Abdul-Aalee’s death was confirmed five weeks later.)_

 

_(His body was never recovered.)_

 

+++

 

Around the world, the same narrative played out a thousand different ways. Not just the burned agents themselves, but also those they knew. Lovers, spouses, friends, neighbors forming a spiralling fractal, with pure chance determining whether your unwitting associates would become collateral damage in the aftermath.

 

Then there were the families of the HYDRA agents themselves.

 

Even Nazis had loved ones.

 

Being HYDRA didn’t preclude you from kissing your daughter’s forehead when you tucked her into bed at night. Didn’t stop you from spending two minutes debating cereal brands in the shopping aisle with your stubborn three-year-old with an indulgent, if exasperated, smile. Didn’t eliminate the loving parents that bragged about your success as a businessman _(politician/doctor/engineer/analyst/lawyer/judge or pilot in turn)_ to their friends.

 

In the wake of SHIELD’s fall, the aftershocks reverberated far longer from the guilty than the innocent.

 

_(Yet it was still ultimately innocents who were hurt.)_

 

+++

 

Three HYDRA agents of note:

 

_Speaker of the House Liam O’Chancy._

 

_President Pro Tempore of the Senate Taylor Coolidge._

 

_Secretary of the Treasury Miranda Winkler._

 

+++

 

_Where was President Ellis during the chaos?_

 

It was one of the first questions on the lips of millions who saw their government in turmoil.

 

When SHIELD fell, the President was at a meet-n-greet in Prague with his Secretary of State.

 

At the first gunshot, President Ellis was tackled to the ground by Security, saving his life.

 

The Secretary has no such savior.

 

In the events that followed, in the rush of smoke and confusion and shattered glass, it would take a long time to distill the numerous conflicting narratives into a reasonably accurate approximation of what had happened.

 

In the immediate aftermath, however, the two most pertinent facts were this:

 

_President Ellis was in the ICU, undergoing emergency life-preserving surgery._

 

and

 

_The Secretary of State was dead._

 

+++

 

There was no Vice President.

 

+++

 

The Presidential Succession Act of 1947 was very clear in its prescriptions.

 

Out of tradition, a single and generally entirely unknown member of the cabinet would not attend the State of the Union each year, to preserve a clear line of power should the worst ever occur and a successful attack on the one time and place you were likely to see the entirety of those outlined in the Act within the same venue.

 

This was not that doomsday scenario.

 

It was, however, far closer than anyone anticipated would happen in reality.

 

+++

 

When Tony Stark had been tapped to become his new boss, Undersecretary Howley decided to reserve judgement. Howley was older than Stark by more than a decade, probably remembered the litany of scandals surrounding the then-teenaged heir to Stark Industries of the nineties better than the man himself did.

 

He’d been in the Defense Department, albeit as a new hire in a sub-department best left forgotten in a position forcing him to spend the vast majority of his time shuffling and organizing paperwork, when Tony Stark became CEO of Stark Industries.

 

He’d slowly risen through the ranks in his own life, with the standard set of career detours and setbacks and eventually, the wife and 2.5 kids _(Maggie and Laurie decided the dog, Cooper, counted as the .5, after hearing that saying one day. He and Beth still occasionally teased the duo about that one)_ expected of the perfect American nuclear family.

 

It’d left him in a unique position to see the transformation of the Defense Industry that came with Stark’s meteoric rise into the “genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist” that the media loved to hate and hated to love in turns.

 

After his kidnapping and captivity in Afghanistan, after his departure from weapons manufacturing and subsequent reveal as Iron Man, after the New York Invasion and the Mandarin…

 

When Secretary Brown stepped down, and Secretary Stark _(Dr. Stark, after a passive-aggressive debate that took weeks to resolve)_ rose in his place, Howley reserved his judgement, and he was not disappointed.

 

That wasn’t to say a part of him didn’t hate Dr. Stark right now, because it’d only been a couple hours and in Dr. Stark’s absence he’d been forced to spearhead the bulk of the Defense Department’s response to what was already being called an “unprecedented global disaster.”

 

The National Guard needed to be deployed. The first batch of Falcon pilots, still technically not combat-ready, were itching to get involved with Air Force brass backing. The Iron Legion, Dr. Stark’s semi-autonomous pet project, was flying around first the U.S. but soon also NATO allies, rescuing burned agents and bystanders alike in a non-stop, cross-country race against the clock.

 

The War Machine was in D.C. when the news broke. After a short but heated debate in the immediate aftermath, he’d been deployed to spearhead rescue operations in Eurasia, both blatantly in allied nations and discreetly in less-friendly ones to prevent the outbreak of World War III.

 

Iron Man himself was unavailable, with Dr. Stark focused on stifling the leak and fighting who knew how many hostile entities on a digital battleground.

 

The remainder of the Avengers— _and Undersecretary Howley was very, very carefully not acknowledging his first thoughts when he’d realized_ Captain America _had authorized the breach_ —or, at least, those directly involved in the mess, were as a whole unavailable. Captain America was missing in action; the Black Widow was...somewhere off the grid. A redwing uniform from the original generation of the program had been stolen from Stark Industries, and a rogue Falcon had nearly been shot down before the pilot was revealed to be one Sam Wilson. No doubt the Air Force would be out for his blood sooner or later, but in the meantime he’d been hastily folded into the existing command structure and allowed to assist with the rescue operations in the Potomac.

 

Because turns out, you can’t just crash enormous ships into the river in a heavily-populated area without serious side effects. And turns out “they’re probably HYDRA” isn’t sufficient evidence to warrant summary execution, and the reality was that there simply wasn’t enough time or manpower to separate the drowning HYDRA agent from their non-treasonous compatriots even if it was.

 

All this, mind you, on a day where non-essential personnel was at home thanks to the Federal Holiday, and thousands of people had to be contacted and called in to join the relief efforts and help manage the immediate fallout.

 

Suffice to say, Howley was not having the best afternoon.

 

When his assistant walked in, and told him the President’s Chief of Staff was on the line and it was urgent, Undersecretary Howley had feeling his afternoon—and, by extension, Dr. Stark’s—was only going to manage to become more complicated from here.

 

+++

 

“Justice McDowell? Thank you for being available on such short notice. If you’ll just follow me, there’s a car waiting for us outside.”

 

“Yes, of course… what’s this about?”

 

“Ma’am, the President has been incapacitated. We need someone qualified to administer the oath to the Acting President as soon as possible.”

 

Chief Judge Colleen McDowell of the Southern District of New York paused at that. Whatever emergency she’d been expecting that was urgent enough for the President’s Chief of Staff to be calling her personally, this had not even occurred to her as a possibility.

 

She ran through the list in her head.

 

“...O’Chancy? He’s in Manhattan?”

 

The… aide? Secret Service agent?... escorting her gave her an odd look.

 

“Ma’am, have you been watching the news at all today?”

 

“Well, no… I mean, not since I took a break for lunch a few hours ago.”

 

“O’Chancy, amongst many others, has been revealed to be a member of a terrorist organization. Said group is suspected to be behind an attack several minutes ago injuring the President and outright killing the Secretary of State. You are the closest, highest-ranking qualified official not implicated in the leak capable of administering the the Oath of Office.”

 

_Closest to whom?_

 

“I… but who?”

 

“The Secretary of Defense. Tony Stark. We’re on our way to Avengers Tower now, although we have yet to successfully reach Dr. Stark...apparently he’s been hands-on with the information leak and out of contact since just after it.”

 

_Turn off the TV for three hours, Collie…_

 

“O-okay then.” To her credit, the Judge’s voice only sounded faintly rattled. “What else do I need to know?”

 

+++

 

“Warning: You are attempting unauthorized access to a facility currently on lockdown. Please state your name and business immediately or you will be asked to vacate the premises,” A polite, faintly British mechanical voice droned from the speaker where Judge McDowell and her small entourage stood.

 

“This is Charles Smith, acting on behalf of the Office of the President, with Justice Colleen McDowell and Agent Connor Anderson, requesting to speak to Dr. Stark on an urgent matter.” He pulled out his badge, holding it up to the camera and gestured for Anderson to do the same.

 

A pause, then the speaker crackled and the same voice responded, “Facial recognition on identity provisionally confirmed. Please clarify your intentions.”

 

_Was it just Charles’ imagination, or had the voice become slightly more life-like with its response?_

 

“It’s extremely sensitive… can I speak to Dr. Stark directly?”

 

“Any pertinent information will be forwarded as deemed necessary.”

 

“Umm...can we at least step inside and talk to someone in person, then?”

 

Another short pause, and then the same voice, now noticeably cooler.

 

“Very well.”

 

Relieved, Charles reached for the door as it unlocked with a click. The voice, however, was not finished speaking.

 

“Please divest yourselves of any and all weaponry or electronic devices before making your way to the nearest elevator, which will be open and highlighted for your convenience. Be advised that I am authorized to take any and all actions needed to ensure Sir’s ongoing safety should your intentions prove malevolent, up to and including permanent incapacitation.”

 

 _Holy shit. He was_ not _expecting to be threatened by British SkyNet when he got out of bed this morning._

 

Justice McDowell looked noticeably paler at the voice’s words, but the three complied nonetheless.

 

Not much later, the elevator closed behind them with an audible _snick_ and then… nothing.

 

Silence for several long seconds, accompanied by a faint humming. The elevator remained stationary.

 

Then the voice spoke again. Instinctively, the agents reached for their non-existent weaponry, and Colleen visibly startled.

 

“Apologies for the delay. My sensors have confirmed your identities and that you are unlikely to pose a direct threat to Sir at this time. Please state your business and I will direct you to Sir as appropriate.”

 

The agents exchanged a glance before Charles took the lead and said, “Sir, uh, Dr. Stark I mean, is next in line for the Presidency currently. There’s been an attack on President Ellis, and as such… we’ve been tasked with bringing him in as soon as possible. Justice McDowell is here to administer the oath.”

 

The voice _definitely_ sounded amused now.

 

“I’ll inform Sir of your arrival.”

 

A ding, and the elevator slid open.

 

They’d never even noticed it starting to move.

 

_Damn Stark was scary. Good thing he’s on our side._

 

+++

 

Tony was drawn out of his focus by the sudden silence coupled with his screen flashing. It blinked twice before locking with a faintly pulsing gold icon now serving as a screensaver.

 

“JARVIS? Something you wanna tell me? Kinda busy here, y’know?”

 

“Sir, you have guests here who need to speak with you."

 

“Guests? I thought I told you we were on complete lockdown until we got this handled?”

 

“The matter they have to discuss is of sufficient gravity to warrant an override.”

 

“...What could possibly… no. Fuck. Don’t tell me—”

 

“Sir,” JARVIS cut in before Tony’s thoughts could spiral down that particular wormhole-based rabbit hole.

 

“It’s not that, however I assure you you’ll want to hear them out.”

 

“Yeah, okay, fine. One minute, max, start a timer. Send ‘em in, J.”

 

A polite cough behind him.

 

“...You already let them in. Of course you did. How ridiculous of me, to think I was in charge of who gets let in to my own lab. My mistake, must be the old age kicking in and giving me funny ideas again…”

 

Sarcasm aside, he turned to face the intruders, rising confidently from his chair.

 

“Alright then. What’s so important it couldn’t wait?”

 

+++

 

_“You’re joking.”_

 

“...Oh fuck no. Nope, no can do, thanks but no thanks. Isn’t there a conflict of interest here anyway? Primary shareholder, huge company with my name on it, ringing any bells here? Plus, ongoing cyber emergency here, too busy anyways, I’ll just go back to—”

 

_“Dammit J. Who the hell taught you to sound so smug?!”_

 

“Fuck. This is only temporary, you said? Acting President until he recovers?”

 

_“Okay. Fine. Fuck, I should have gone with my gut and stayed the hell away from this job, no matter what Pepper said.”_

 

+++

 

“I, Anthony Edward Stark, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

 

+++

 

**LIVE FROM THE WHITE HOUSE: PRESIDENT STARK ADDRESSES A STUNNED NATION**

 

“When I first started as Iron Man, I did so because I believed, and still believe, I have a responsibility to keep my inventions from evil hands. Since then, I’ve realized I have an even greater responsibility to oppose that evil any way I can. So, Iron Man may have done his bit out there, in whatever ways I could. But a suit of armour alone cannot do what has to be done... So... I guess Tony Stark, President, will be around for a while.

 

[...]

 

“The cause of securing our country, our _planet,_ is not complete.  But tonight, we are once again reminded that humanity? We can do whatever we set our mind to even in the face of disaster.  That is the story of our history, whether it’s the pursuit of prosperity for our people, or the struggle for equality for all our citizens; our commitment to stand up for our values abroad, and our sacrifices to make the world a safer place.

 

“Let us remember that we can do these things not just because of wealth or power, but because of who we are: one nation, one people, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

 

[...]

 

“We’ve faced tyrants. Murderers. Aliens, demigods and now… HYDRA.

 

“For a time they may seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. _Always._

 

“Things won't ever be the way they were before today. But as a very wise man once told me, _Don’t waste your life._ If you hang onto the past, to the fear and the doubt, you die a little every day. And for myself? I know I'd rather live.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...And so it begins. 
> 
> I know a lot of you were hoping for a bit more of President Stark in action, but that was never in the cards for this particular work. That said, I do have several plot bunnies and ideas in mind for the future of this 'verse, so I'm making this a series you can track if/when I decide to write more down the line. 
> 
> Likewise, if you ever feel inspired to write in your own version of this verse... you are more than welcome, just make sure to send me a link! The world needs more World Leader (But Definitely Not Global Overlord, Honestly People, You Think I Have Time For That Because I Don't, _Dammit!_ ) Stark. Especially with how things have been going with the real American government these past couple weeks in particular...
> 
> Thanks for reading! Feedback and comments are much appreciated. (:


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